Former AFL forward Nathan Brown has accused the game of "going mad" over the Patrick Dangerfield incident which has robbed the Geelong star of any chance to win back-to-back Brownlow medals.

Dangerfield accepted a one-match suspension from the match review panel for rough conduct on Carlton's Matthew Kreuzer and will miss Friday night's game against Sydney.

The Cats made the decision to cop the plea rather than risk a two-match suspension which would have sidelined Dangerfield for the following round's game against Richmond, but the incident has prompted plenty of debate about the coveted award for the AFL's best and fairest player.

"It's embarrassing isn't it?" Brown told Today.

"It is an unbelievable set of circumstances that we have to have the best player in the game not playing this weekend.